“Life isn’t fair, dear one. And sometimes, neither is death.”

Stars (Out of 10): 10/10 Stars

I’ve taken a while to finally get to this review, but I still don’t think I’ll be able to properly vocalize how I feel about this book, and a series as a whole.

This sequel contains everything I loved about book 1, and even more. We’ve got the flip flopping past and present POVs, the same characters and tenuous relationships, and both Tea and the Bard narrate as well. What’s added is more action, more plot, and even some romance. One issue many people have with The Bone Witch is its long build-up and slow beginning, but this book does not “suffer” from those same traits. Both the present and past plots deal a lot more with direct actions and consequences, and the tension between the characters increasing as well. It all leads to a much more intense and exciting book.

Specifically in terms of characters, Rin continues to do such a fantastic job of creating fleshed out and real characters. Our main character, Tea, both in past and present, holds so much conflict within her, and her navigation of the truth and lies within her society is such an interesting path to follow. It also helps that we still aren’t sure if her present actions are explained by her past, or if we, as readers, also turn against her later on. The supporting cast all also stands on their own, with almost all characters developing their own stories and backgrounds further. They also work to complement Tea really well, as they do not work to take away from Tea’s story or distract readers, but also show the depth of Rin’s world, and how differently people view the same set of actions.

The plot was also quite intriguing, though I still found myself more interested in the present than the past portions of the chapter. One of the main portions of the plot was almost too well foreshadowed that it didn’t remain so much a mystery to me, and took away from the suspense of the past plot. However, even with this, Rin was able to fully capture me in her tale and world, and I was as fully in love with this book as I was with book 1.

The world was also just as gorgeous as when I was introduced to it in book 1, even now that we begin to see more and more of the shadows of the beauty. We gain more depth in this book, as well as knowledge into other kingdoms, specifically in terms of why some of the authorities in this book do what they do as well as the stark differences between the mindsets of the different members of the world. Additionally, since this book carries more moments of tensions, and actions that bring across consequences, we see more of the world in how they deal with these situations of tension.

But for some reason, grading this book on its individual parts isn’t something that sits right with me. The Heart Forger is so much more than the sum of its parts, and something needs to be said for how well it immerses the reader, and how at home I begin to feel in the world and heads of these characters. In two quick books these characters have attached themselves so strongly to my heart that the characters of much longer series can’t even compare. There is something so compelling and enchanting about the way Rin writes and builds her world that keeps a reader enraptured, even during the less intense, thrilling parts of the book. Simply learning more about Tea’s past, and discovering more about her and her perception of the world and events that lead her to her future is just so interesting.

The Bone Witch world seems to be a world I can revisit and love at any time, and is a book that, to me, can be read at any pace. I’ve admittedly taken longer than I would’ve liked with both The Heart Forger and currently the finale, The Shadowglass, but that somehow does not diminish my experience like it does for some books. All Rin needs is a few lines, maybe a paragraph, to fully suck me back into Tea’s story, and I love this series for it.